'Under the Dog' Team to Attend Otakon 2016 Premiere

Baltimore, MD (July 22, 2016) – Two years after the indie anime project "Under the Dog" was announced at Otakon, members of the team that brought it to life will attend its premiere at Otakon 2016, according to Otakorp Inc.

"Under the Dog" was revealed at Otakon 2014 as a Kickstarter campaign and is the biggest budgeted Japanese anime project to date in Kickstarter's animation category. It is also one of the first Japanese anime projects ever launched to be solely financed by crowdfunding. Top creative talents have gathered to work on this high-profile project, including Jirō Ishii (“428: In a Blockaded Shibuya,” “CANAAN,” “Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors,” “Imabikiso,” and “Time Travelers”) as the original storywriter, Masahiro Andō (“Sword of the Stranger,” “CANAAN,” “Hana-Saku Iroha,” and “Blast of Tempest”) as the director, and Yūsuke Kozaki (“No More Heroes,” “Fire Emblem: Awakening,” and “Fire Emblem If”) as the character designer. Ishii will attend the Otakon premiere, along with producers Koji Morimoto and Muneki Ogasawara.

Jirō Ishii, the scriptwriter, says, "We'll be bringing the 'Under the Dog' episode fresh out from the oven to celebrate the project's achievement and share the premiere together with everyone at Otakon in Baltimore, where it was first announced!"

Producer Koji Morimoto said, "Director Ando and all the staff/cast have put amazing effort in making the original animation video, 'Under the Dog.' And it is finally here! The animation turned out to be truly incredible, so I'm looking forward to watching the episode together with everyone on a big screen with the full-blast audio."

Otakon members deserve thanks, according to Muneki Ogasawara, who said, "I hope to bring and show to everyone at Otakon, Director Ando's dedication and all the staff's passion in making 'Under the Dog.' I truly look forward to the opportunity of meeting those who supported us and would like to express my gratitude and appreciation in person."

Ishii, a game designer and storywriter, as well as a scriptwriter, was born in Hyogo, Japan, in 1967. After working in the advertisement/video industry, he joined Chunsoft, a videogame developer. He later moved to Level-5 and became independent in 2014. He established his own company, Storytelling, in 2015.

His prominent works include the videogames "Time Travelers," "428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de," and "Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors"; and the anime titles "Under the Dog," "Monster Strike," "Bubuki/Buranki" and "CANAAN."

His hobbies include (of course) games such as "Jinro" ("Werewolf") – where he is one of the best players in Japan -- and analog games.

Morimoto is a producer and was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1963. After working at Mitsubishi Electric and Bandai Visual, he established his own company, Aurora, in 2013.

Anime titles he has produced include: "Under the Dog," ".hack//SIGN," "Please Teacher!," "CANAAN" and "Tantei Opera Milky Holmes."

Ogasawa is an animation producer and the president of Kinema Citrus. He was born in Ehime, Japan, in 1970. After working as a production desk and animation producer at Production I.G, Bones, and Khara, he established his own company, Kinema Citrus, in 2008.

Anime titles he has produced include: "Under the Dog," "Tokyo Magnitude 8.0," "Black Bullet," "Barakamon," "Norn9" and "Kumamiko."

Otakon 2016 will be held August 12-14 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twenty-third year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore's few large, city-wide events, drawing over 34,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 100,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

For more information about Otakorp, Inc., see http://www.otakon.com/otakorp/index.asp

For more information and the latest news on Otakon 2015, see http://www.otakon.com/